WHO Global Coordination Mechanism on the Prevention and Control of NCDs

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First webinar on Gender and NCDs

On Friday 16th June the GCM/NCD convened the first in a three-part webinar series on Gender and NCDs, focusing on women, girls and the unique impact of gender inequalities on their experience of NCDs.

The focus for this initial webinar was on individual level insights and recommendations. The next two in the three-part series will expand to include settings and integration approaches that are context-specific.

For this first webinar we were joined by four thought leaders from the gender and global health space, who offered insights and tangible examples for action.

Friends and colleagues joined us in WHO HQ for the session and so far 127 people have viewed the webinar. The discussion continued on social media with valuable contributions from key influencers in the NCD and gender equity space.

We encourage you to listen to the recording to learn more about what was discussed.

Speakers:

Professor Debra Anderson, Head of School for Nursing and Midwifery and the Director and Founder of the Women’s Wellness Research Program, located at the Menzies Health Institute, Griffith University, spoke on how ‘one size does not fit all’, exploring how BMI and obesity affects women.

Dr Anshu Banerjee, Senior Advisor to the WHO Department of Family, Women, Child and Adolescent Health (FWC), discussed the ‘triple dividend’ of investing in adolescent health and why NCDs are important for the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCH) community.

Ms Etienne Franca, Communications Officer for Every Woman Every Child, gave an advocate’s account of efforts across sectors to ensure that all women, children and adolescents not only survive, but also thrive to help transform the world.

Dr Bente Mikkelsen, Head of the Secretariat for the WHO GCM/NCD, gave some introductory remarks and an overview of the whole webinar series – including acknowledgement of gender as a ‘lens’ we must consider looking at NCD prevention and control though and that this also applies to men and boys.

Questions from the audience

Questions from the audience spanned many topics, including: shifting from an emphasis on individual behaviour towards considering structural factors that contribute to NCDs; industry marketing strategies geared towards women and girls; the SDG framework which encourages an integrative approach to the prevention and control of NCDs; how to encourage change amongst private sector entities; and what we – as a community of health care and global health workers – can do next to advance this agenda.

Up next

The next webinar in this series will be held on Wednesday, 27 September, 15.00-17.00 CET, in the Large Library meeting room at WHO HQ and streamed online via WebEx. This webinar will examine settings approaches for preventing and treating NCDs in women and girls: focusing on the workplace.

The third and final webinar in the series will be held on Monday, 27 November, 15.00-17.00 CET, in the Large Library meeting room at WHO HQ and streamed via WebEx. This webinar will conclude the series by looking at the empowerment of women and girls through the integration of NCDs across the life course. Please stay tuned for further updates!